Jane Addams (History Essay Sample)

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Jane Addams took to heart the doctrines of Christian usefulness quite positively. She learnt the importance of bringing religion out of church and into the society, which “heightened her sense of social responsibility”. She studied other languages, natural science, ancient history, and moral philosophy. She was also active in debates and in editing the seminary magazine. These, indeed, shaped her career, which made her a hugely popular and respected woman. She became intensely active in the peace movement during World War I that did taint her popularity but later earned a Nobel Prize in 1931. She supported working class and labor unions because she had lived in a society where women relegated to “wife/ mother/ daughter roles”. Her antics, which turned against her, now seem to be making sense, and make her a recognized social justice pioneer and reformer. She was a woman who upheld strong values and worked to benefit the society.

Chicago was a city described by Lincoln Steffens as “first in violence, loud, dirty, lawless, ill-smelling, and unlovely, an overgrown gawk of a village, and the teeming tough among cities”. This situation in Chicago attracted Jane Addams. She had returned from Chicago with an overflowing amount of energy and “a plan of attack”. This would help her to implement her plans to benefit to her otherwise useless life.

She went ahead to look for “the rawest and most impoverished section” of the city and ended up at the Hull House. Its foundation was in the poor, working-class neighborhood of Chicago. It was in this house that Jane Addams joined the other educated women to contribute to their plan of transforming and empowering immigrant neighborhoods. Many people poured in to benefit from the various services offered. These included entertainment such as parties and games, meals and childcare services. She also campaigned for improved efforts in achieving cleaner streets by advocating more effective garbage collection. She participated in the establishment of consumer co-operatives that offered high quality commodities at better prices. She also pressed for better schools that could prevent delinquency and prepare students for useful lives. The Hull House existed “to provide a place for a high civic and social life; to accommodate and maintain philanthropic and educational enterprises, and to probe and improve the conditions in the districts of Chicago”.

The Census Report indicated that the frontier that early existed was invaded by the growing population and had seized to be a frontier line. The report propped up mixed reactions from different quarters over the disappearance of the frontier, as some people argued, “the frontier was a valuable part of the national heritage”. This prompted Gifford Pinchot to ponder over the idea of conservation, which could serve as a measure in preserving the remainder of America’s abundance and calm down the heated reactions of the census report. This could make conservation to be viewed “as the new frontier – keeping the nation young, prosperous, wholesome, vigorous and democratic”. Pinchot even declined to be part of the General Land Office, because it had no trained officers, was in charge of selling off the public lands and that the land office was corrupt and full of “worthless political rejects”.

During this period, Pinchot gave conservation immense publicity as soon as he conceived the idea. It was also during this time that the chief forester explained the three principles of conservation. These included the management of the environment as a whole, development of natural resources to benefit the residents, and the principle of conservation as a means of waste prevention. Through these concepts, Pinchot linked conservation to the mainstream of progressivism. He believed that “natural resources must be preserved and developed for the benefit of many, not necessarily for the profit of a few”. Pinchot ideas drove Roosevelt to plan for multipurpose river development by treating rivers from source to mouth. This plan assisted in implementing the faith of progressivism in efficiency, science and federal control. Gifford Pinchot influence rode high and he organized a series of international conferences, meetings and speeches to preach the gospel on conservation. His efforts did not appease to the congress, which declined to commit funds for the proposed conservation measures.

4. Gifford Pinchot was at the center of a major schism in the Republican Party, beginning in 1909. How did the rift develop? What were some of the short- and long-term impacts of the so-called Ballinger-Pinchot affair?

The nonviolent protest campaign left a permanent change in several institutions. The local authorities arrested people who were campaigning because of closing facilities threatened by integration. The blacks felt that they had achieved remarkably little through this campaign, and did recognize the ineffectiveness of those nonviolent protests against prejudice. King, through the criticism, became aware of the increasing need to establish passive resistance work. His philosophies merited in the subsequent years as the new president, Lyndon B. Johnson, prohibited racial discriminations in every level of interaction, in employment or accommodation. Martin Luther King’s reputation remains to be legendary. People from all corners of the world take pride and pleasure in learning about his philosophy. He believed that “making the American system work in the interest of black rights could bring equality to all Americans”.

The response of the Americans to the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. was a shame with many white people feeling compelled to apologize to the blacks. It was recognizable that “a powerful influence for interracial understanding and compassion disappeared”. There were different reactions from the government and other organizations. For example, reports, which indicated that racism was the root of a polarization process that would threaten values of democracy. The pessimism of King’s death was deepened by the assassination of presidential aspirant Robert F. Kennedy. In the 1968 elections, Richard Nixon came to power and favored the withdrawal of the federal involvement from the struggle for black rights. A demonstration organized in June 1968 by Reverend Ralph Abernathy led to bloodshed. The black militancy lost momentum in the late 1960s, leading to the arrest and subsequent deaths of many leaderslike Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, and Angela Davis.

Elvis and his parents attended the Assemblies of God church when they moved to Memphis. Elvis got his first exposure to music through the church services, and at home where the family sang gospel songs. From then onwards, he enjoyed singing, impressing even his teachers by his musical talents. His teachers arranged for him participation in a musical contest, and even though he did not win, it had a significant impact as his first singing experience. On his eleventh birthday, his parents bought him a guitar that he regularly played as he learned how to pick lyrics. Elvis also tuned into listening to music on the black stations performed by black artists, and quickly widened his repertoire of songs. All his schoolmates, friends and relatives, who heard his songs agreed that Elvis Presley had a talent.

Elvis came from a humble background from Mississippi. His parents later moved to the countryside of Memphis. This profoundly influenced Elvis’ appearance as he kept a long hairdo with long sideburns, unlike the majority of his schoolmates who kept their hair short, with no sideburns. Elvis also wore brightly colored clothes, which distinguished him from the rest of the school kids. He claimed that his style was of immense personal importance and wanted to look like “the long-distance truck drivers who passed through Memphis in their big-rigs”.

The older generation, before Elvis emphasized on the cultural values apart from music, promoted the status quo in the U.S. after World War II. However, music that appealed to the youth lead to a transition. The American youth yearned for something new, and these feelings got into Elvis Presley, who understood their plight. White youths like Elvis exposed themselves to a culture that the elders did not approve, causing a sense of rebellion from the American youths. They opted to listen to black musicians and all-black stations.